About Me
Hello, I’m Sarah.
I’m a 5x venture-backed startup marketing and operations executive with more than three decades of experience building alongside early-stage startups, high-growth companies, and emerging brands.
Throughout my career, I’ve led strategy, go-to-market, customer experience, marketing, operations, partnerships, retention, and growth initiatives while building and leading high-performing teams. In 2012, I founded Campsix, a strategic consultancy focused on helping founders scale and raise capital, and in 2020 I co-founded Lemon HQ an influencer marketing and growth agency.
For the past decade, I’ve also created and supported accelerators and founder communities, including launching my own local founder meetup in Connecticut, where I live.
Today, I’m building my personal brand, launching a portfolio of AI-native businesses, and working closely with founders as a strategic partner and operator.
To learn more about my journey, read on.
“With nearly three decades of experience working with some of the most innovative brands and founders globally, I help businesses scale their big ideas and unlock growth.”
~Sarah Reilly Engel
My Journey
I began my career in New York City in product marketing and equity research—a foundation that taught be how to analyze markets, distill value, and bridge the gap between product, marketing, and customers. In 2000, the startup world sparked my obsession with building as I shifted into tech, where I spent decades leading growth, marketing, and operational strategy at companies including Salesforce, thisMoment, Belly, LTK, and Hello Alice. Across these roles, I wore many hats, leading cross-functional initiatives from go-to-market planning, customer acquisition, brand positioning, retention strategy, internal operations, team development, content strategy, product management, marketing and revenue growth.
Through my leadership journey in startups, I learned that great ideas can fail without the right strategy and systems, and launched Campsix in 2012 to offer hands-on support for early-stage businesses. For over a decade Campsix has worked across DTC, tech, wellness, and mission-driven brands, helping companies like Rosy Wellness and Moe Assist raise over $5M in venture funding, in addition supporting organizations like Vox, Hello Alice, Curriki, Everest, and the Female Founder Collective through fractional roles.
In 2020, I co-founded Lemon HQ, an influencer and social media agency designed for modern brands navigating cultural relevance and creator-powered growth. This side-hustle grew quickly to over seven figures. For over five years, we led campaigns and growth marketing strategies for DTC clients like Ring Concierge, TEZZA, Brilliant Earth, The Color Department, Evolus, Dearfoams, Nemah, Blue Lagoon Skincare, Armani, Von Maur and others, blending storytelling, influencer strategy, events, and partnerships to drive measurable brand engagement and sales.
Whether advising founders, building brands, or working alongside internal teams, I bring a customer-first mindset, operational clarity, and the ability to translate big ideas into business results. My approach is rooted in aligning strategy, storytelling and systems in a way that resonates with both business revenue goals and the customers it’s built to serve.
At the end of 2025, I stepped away from agency life with a clear focus: to build AI-native businesses, support founders in tech, and create a more intentional path centered around ownership, freedom, and meaningful work. This belief has shaped both my career and the way I live. I’m a mom of two, and I’ve built my life around creating the kind of freedom that allows me to be an entrepreneur, while staying present for my kids.
Over the past decade, I’ve also built and led accelerators alongside organizations including Impact Engine, 1871, Hello Alice, and Female Founder Collective. In 2022, I also started a local founder community in CT that continues to bring entrepreneurs together each month in my barn. This community is growing offline and online and I can’t wait to meet more founders along the way!
My Superpowers
Growth Marketing
I develop and implement end-to-end growth frameworks—integrating paid, organic, outbound (including direct mail), channel partnerships, and product-led initiatives—to drive rapid, data-driven customer acquisition and optimize revenue performance.
Scaling Influence & Content
I define and lead content strategies that drive growth, shape perception, and unlock revenue—activating voices across podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Substack, live events, and educational series. By crafting a unified voice, structure, and storytelling at every touchpoint, I spark authentic engagement and amplify brand lift.
Uncovering Opportunities & Ideas
I have the unique ability to connect the dots and uncover big ideas for businesses who are looking to expand their market footprint. I work alongside founders to reveal meaningful opportunities, industry positioning and strategic moves that maximize impact.
Brand Strategy & Positioning
In a world where anyone can ship a product overnight, brand and experience is the moat. I help founders define their essence, values, and true differentiation, then build the experience around it: from positioning and messaging to the full customer journey — first touch, onboarding, engagement, and retention.
Execution & Leadership
As an effective leader and communicator, I provide hands-on support, working closely with leadership to align strategy, inspire teams, and ensure momentum toward business objectives.
AI Integration & Enablement
I help established businesses become AI-savvy — auditing where AI creates real leverage, then embedding the right tools into how teams plan, execute, and scale. Practical adoption, not hype.
Operational Optimization
I help businesses at all stages assess their business models, strategies, operations, AI tools and teams to maximize profitability and scale. I analyze systems, processes, tools against KPIs to drive success.
Revenue Enablement
Campsix helps companies tie brand and go-to-market directly to revenue. I do this by shaping offers, prioritizing channels, and building marketing programs that support pipeline, conversion, and growth—alongside decisions around pricing, packaging, and new revenue opportunities.
Go-to-Market
I craft end-to-end GTM playbooks—aligning product, marketing, and sales—to pinpoint your ideal audience, sharpen messaging, optimize pricing & packaging, and select the right channels to create high-impact launches that convert and build lasting traction.
Building AI-Native Products
I concept and launch AI-native products from zero — turning ideas into real, working products. From idea and validation to build and go-to-market, I move fast with AI at the core, and can handoff MVPs for launch or development.
salesforce.com
MOE ASSIST
PAST WORK